朝鲜列传

King Wěi Mǎn of Chaoxian was originally a man from the state of Yàn. From the time when Yàn was still unified, it had gradually brought the territories of Zhēnfān and Chaoxian under its control, establishing administrative offices and constructing fortified defenses. When Qín destroyed Yàn, these lands were incorporated into the outer frontier region of Liáodōng. When the Hàn dynasty rose to power, the difficulty of defending such distant territories prompted a restoration of the old Liáodōng fortifications, using the Pèi River as a boundary, and Chaoxian was attached to the kingdom of Yàn.

When the King of Yàn, Lú Wǎn, rebelled and fled into Xiongnu territory, Wěi Mǎn took flight, gathered over a thousand followers, bound his hair in barbarian fashion and wore barbarian dress, and journeyed eastward through the passes. Crossing the Pèi River, he occupied the abandoned defensive fortifications left by Qín and gradually subjugated the barbarian peoples of Zhēnfān and Chaoxian, as well as refugees from the former states of Yàn and Qí, establishing himself as their king with his capital at Wángxiǎn.

During the reigns of Emperor Xiào Hùi and Empress Gāo Hòu, when the empire had only recently been pacified, the Grand Administrator of Liáodōng entered into an agreement with Wěi Mǎn, establishing Chaoxian as an external vassal state committed to protecting the frontier peoples and preventing raids across the border. Any barbarian chieftains who wished to petition the Son of Heaven would not be obstructed. This arrangement was reported to the court and approved. Consequently, Wěi Mǎn was able to employ his military might and resources to coerce neighboring settlements into submission, and both Zhēnfān and Líntún came under his rule, spanning several thousand li.

The rule passed to his son, then to his grandson Wǒu Qú, who seduced increasing numbers of Hàn defectors and moreover had never come to court in person. The various states of Zhēnfān and its neighbors wished to send petitions to the Son of Heaven but were blocked and unable to do so.

In the second year of Yuán Fēng, the Hàn envoy Shè Hé traveled to admonish Wǒu Qú, but the king stubbornly refused to comply with the imperial summons. When Shè Hé departed and reached the border crossing, he stopped at the Pèi River and had his carriage driver murder the Chaoxian vice-king Cháng, who had escorted him. He then crossed the river and hurried back through the pass, reporting to the Son of Heaven that he had "killed a Chaoxian general." The emperor, pleased with this accomplishment, did not question the matter further and appointed Shè Hé as Grand Administrator of the Eastern Circuit of Liáodōng. Chaoxian, embittered by Shè Hé's deception, launched an attack and killed him.

The emperor then recruited convicted criminals to campaign against Chaoxian. That autumn, General of the War Galleys Yáng Pú led fifty thousand troops from Qí by sea, while General of the Left Xún Zhì marched from Liáodōng, both directed against Wǒu Qú. Wǒu Qú mobilized forces to hold the strategic passes. General Xún Zhì's advance commander, Duō, led the Liáodōng troops in a premature assault; they were defeated and scattered, retreating in disorder. Duō was later arrested and executed for violating military law.

The emperor, concerned that neither commander had achieved success, dispatched Wèi Shān to coerce Wǒu Qú into submission through a show of military force. Wǒu Qú, upon seeing the envoy, kowtowed in submission, saying: "I wish to surrender, but I fear that the two generals will, as they did before, falsely kill me. Now that I have seen your credentials, I am prepared to submit." He sent his heir apparent to court to pay his respects, offering five thousand horses and provisions for the army. Over ten thousand people, armed and ready, began crossing the Pèi River when the envoy and General Xún Zhì grew suspicious of their intentions. They told the prince that since he had already submitted, he should order his men to put down their weapons. The prince, also suspicious that the envoy and General Xún Zhì might falsely kill him as they had killed Shè Hé, refused to cross the Pèi River and led his men back.

The emperor, concerned that neither commander had achieved success, dispatched Wèi Shān to coerce Wǒu Qú into submission through a show of military force. Wǒu Qú, upon seeing the envoy, kowtowed in submission, saying: "I wish to surrender, but I fear that the two generals will, as they did before, falsely kill me. Now that I have seen your credentials, I am prepared to submit." He sent his heir apparent to court to pay his respects, offering five thousand horses and provisions for the army. Over ten thousand people, armed and ready, began crossing the Pèi River when the envoy and General Xún Zhì grew suspicious of their intentions. They told the prince that since he had already submitted, he should order his men to put down their weapons. The prince, also suspicious that the envoy and General Xún Zhì might falsely kill him as they had killed Shè Hé, refused to cross the Pèi River and led his men back.

General Xún Zhì had long enjoyed proximity to the emperor and commanded seasoned troops from Yàn and Dài. Being emboldened by victory, his forces grew increasingly arrogant. General Yáng Pú commanded troops from Qí who had crossed the sea and already suffered many defeats and casualties. Moreover, having been defeated by Wǒu Qú earlier, his men were humiliated and demoralized, feeling shamed. Their commander, ashamed at heart, preferred to maintain peaceful negotiations while surrounding Wǒu Qú. General Xún Zhì pressed his attack urgently. The Chaoxian ministers then secretly sent envoys to arrange a surrender with General Yáng Pú, but the negotiations were still ongoing when no decision had been reached. General Xún Zhì repeatedly ordered Yáng Pú to engage in battle, but Yáng Pú, eager to finalize the surrender agreement, refused to attack. General Xún Zhì also sent messengers to negotiate separately with the Chaoxian side, but Chaoxian refused, choosing instead to place its trust in General Yáng Pú. As a result, the two generals were unable to cooperate.